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Bjørgen, Marit

(Encyclopedia)Bjørgen, Marit, 1980–, Norwegian cross-country skier, b. Trondheim. The most decorated winter Olympian of all time, with 15 medals, she initially excelled as a sprinter, but later became accomplish...

Seles, Monica

(Encyclopedia)Seles, Monica sĕlˈĭs [key], 1973–, Yugoslav-American tennis player, b. Serbia, of Hungarian heritage. She won her first major tournament, the French Open, in 1990, at the age of 16 and soon domin...

Spinks, Leon, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Spinks, Leon, Jr. 1953-2021, American boxer, b. St. Louis, Mo. Spinks began boxing at age 13, dropping out of high school in his junior year to join the...

Ishikawa

(Encyclopedia)Ishikawa ēshēˈkäwä [key], prefecture, 1,619 sq mi (4,193 sq km), central Honshu, Japan. The ...

Pulangi

(Encyclopedia)Pulangi po͞olängˈgē [key], river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rising in the mountains of N Mindanao, the Philippines, and flowing SW to Liguasan Marsh. As the Mindanao River, it flows NW to Illana Bay...

Ymir

(Encyclopedia)Ymir ēˈmĕr [key], in Norse mythology, primeval giant and progenitor of a race of giants. Odin and his brothers slew Ymir; from his skull they fashioned the sky, from his flesh the earth, from his b...

Panamint Range

(Encyclopedia)Panamint Range pănˈəmĭnt [key], rugged fault-block mountains, SE Calif., near the Nev. line. Telescope Peak (11,045 ft/3,367 m high) is the tallest peak. The range forms the western boundary of De...

Wutai Shan

(Encyclopedia)Wutai Shan wo͞o-tī shän [key], mountain range, extending c.150 mi (240 km) across NE Shanxi and NW Hebei prov., NE China. The mountains, rising to c.10,035 ft (3,058 m), are sacred to Buddhists and...

Barisan

(Encyclopedia)Barisan bärēsänˈ [key], volcanic mountain range, c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, paralleling the western coast of Sumatra island, Indonesia. It rises to Mt. Kerinci (12,467 ft/3,800 m high). Numerous ...

Carpathians

(Encyclopedia)Carpathians kärpāˈthēənz [key] or Carpathian Mountains, Czech, Pol., and Ukr. Karpaty, Rom. Carpaţii, major mountain system of central and E Europe, extending c.930 mi (1,500 km) along the north...